Dong Ding

I’m pretty sure this is my first ever dong ding… I’ve tried a lot of higher altitude varietals, but not one of these before. I just got done teaching the first class of the semester, then gossiping with faculty about other people in our field, so I’ve been talking a lot and my throat’s a bit sore. :D A nice oolong should help, I think.

It certainly smells nice… buttery and creamy and floral and a hint vegetal. And I’m really enjoying the flavors as well! Nicely floral, creamy mouthfeel, a bit of buttery vegetables. I’m thinking I need to try dong dings more often! I really like combo of the dark florals with the buttery, creamy notes. Now I feel like I should try more dong dings before I go to China, but alas I am on a tea buying moratorium.

Tea of the afternoon…..

I received this sample from Nav, the driving force behind thepuriTea. We have exchanged a few emails about sample packaging, and he offered to send a few samples to me. I requested this one as well as a little more of the Golden Yunnan. I do have to say, that I am impressed with everything they do. I can tell thepuriTea spends some time in carefully choosing their offerings. Also, they continually make strides to improve service as well as web presence and the overall shopping experience. Admittedly, I wait for sales and free shipping offerings when I order, and I so appreciate that this company offers them from time to time.

This tea is good. I like the light vegetal notes, and it seems less floral than the Tie Kuan Yin or Ali Shan. I think this would be best suited to those who are not fans of floral notes. For me, I think I am better suited to Tie Kuan Yin or Ali Shan. It is good to know this, though! Thank you, Nav, for the sample!

Gaiwan, steep#1 at 2 minutes, 180ish water. More steeps to go!

This is a very light, clean tea – I used the entire sample (which ended up being about 10 grams) of the tightly rolled green leaves in about 18 oz. of water at below parameters.

What I got was a pale yellow liquor with a creamy texture, and a spinachy taste and smell. Considering the amount of leaf used I can only imagine how light it would be if I used the 1-2 grams of leaf per cup that was recommended.

While it was a nice gentle tea – it was very straightforward in both taste and smell. I’m not really sensing any difference (besides the texture, I guess) between this and green teas. Is there something I’m missing?

Steep Information:
Amount: 2 tsp, one entire sample bag
Water: 500ml filtered boiling water 180°F
Tool: Breville One-Touch Tea Maker BTM800XL
Steep Time: a little over 4 minutes
Served: Hot

Tasting Notes:
Dry Leaf Smell: forgot to sniff
Steeped Tea Smell: vegetal
Flavor: delicate, light, vegetal, smooth, a little nutty
Body: Medium
Aftertaste: sweet, nutty
Liquor: opaque yellow-green

I placed a large order of mostly samples so I could experiment with more flavors from thepuriTea, it’s sort of like pokemon, I want to try them all (mostly).

It was a light and refreshing oolong, I think next time a bit longer steep is in order.

Post-Steep Additives: honey, which even though it was a mild honey over powered the tea, I think that I either needed less or an even milder honey or sweetener.

Images: http://amazonv.blogspot.com/2010/06/thepuritea-loose-leaf-oolong-tea-dong.html

Something really awesome just happened. My husband loves this oolong! Imagine that, one who likes a select few flavored teas and drinks mostly coffee really loves a simple delicious unflavored oolong. He will be converted soon >)

As for me, I like it quite well enough. It smells both floral and vegetal (exactly how I like my greener oolongs). The flavor is smooth, vegetal, slightly floral and I think I pick up a little lemon too.

Thanks again moraiwe for helping me to find some fantastic oolongs :)

EDIT:
I just tried a second steeping (I figured I’d try to get the most out of my sample). I steeped it 4min30sec (first time was 3min).
I liked the first cup better. It lost a lot of flavor the second time around, but maybe only because I steeped so long the first time. Although, a longer time was recommended for this tea, so I dunno. It’s still a pleasant cup though. Not much floral, but a but mineral-ly. Not sure if thats the right word. I’ve hear it used to describe other teas. It’s the same flavor I’ve often associated with second and third steepings of mostly japanese greens. I always call it a flat muddy flavor, like dirt almost (but Ive yet to hear anyone else describe it as mineral…) However, in this tea it’s not an entirely unpleasant effect. There is still just a hint of the original flavor left too.

this is an acceptable oolong. I purchased a sample as I am trying to “grow my palate” and appreciate greener oolongs. First, this one does have a discernable flavor. But like the previous reviewer, it can benefit from longer steeping times. It is quite mild and has a pleasant creaminess. I doubt I would order this one due to my personal preferences but I would definitely say this is of decent quality.

Wow. This tea has awesome mouthfeel. Very creamy with a little astringency on the back end. I think I didn’t use enough leaf, because the flavors are very delicate. What I can get is lemony and floral. Slightly nutty.

I’m enjoying this very much. I think I may need some more of this after I finish off this sample. And I definitely need to play with the leaf amounts.

Dong Ding is one of my favorite teas. It is a lightly oxidized oolong with huge amounts of flavor. The aroma is a sweet earthy aroma followed by a floral honeysuckle in the background. The brew is a pale yellow liquor at two min steep. The buds are tightly rolled and blossom into a huge amount of leaves. With the wet leaves there is a bit of a grassy and honeysuckle aroma.

When it comes to sipping the precious golden liquor you are first hit by a sweet light grassy notes followed by the honeysuckle. You get a bit of a dry astringent note on the tongue as an aftertaste, but it fades quickly. After the dry note fades you get a nutty earthy note.
Overall I really like this tea and thepuritea did a great job in choosing a great one.

This is a little bizarre for me. I’m reviewing a tea I drank without realizing I had been drinking it.

I ordered from thepuriTea and received my order yesterday. I was looking forward to trying the Dan Cong, so I prepared it, took notes, drank it. Then, I looked at the sample packet. It was marked Dong Ding, as was the other packet of tea in the case. I looked at the outside case. It was marked Dan Cong. Someone put the wrong tea into this sample packet. Therefore, here’s my review for the right tea, Dong Ding.

It smells nice. It’s fresh, not fruity or sweet. More like a soft spring day freshness than woodsy fresh. (195/2 min) It smells grilled. It’s nice, though. Not roasted or smoky, but just grilled. Like the taste that vegetables get on the barbeque, but without the vegetal taste. The tea is a nice yellow color and very clear. The taste is really fresh, clean, grilled, slightly smoky flavored. It’s a bit woodsy, but very nice, not overwhelming. I’d say the elements are all nicely balanced. I’m really enjoying it.

Now, I just have to contact thepuriTea to get the sample that I had actually ordered.

Nav never disappoints – at least, not so far. He really took care in selecting teas to carry in his online store. My humans went ga-ga (no, not her!) over this tea. You gotta see the wonderful before and after steep photos of the tea leaves. I look pretty cute, too! Details and photos: http://lyt-tea-reviews.blogspot.com/2010/11/review-thepuriteacoms-dong-ding-oolong.html

Pretty good but not my favorite, I would not turn down a cup or a sample of this.